George Hezekiah Boughton (July 31, 1792 – April 28, 1866) was an American politician.

Life

He was born on July 31, 1792, in West Stockbridge,

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in ...

. The family removed to Canandaigua, New York in 1795. During the War of 1812, he fought in the

Battle of Queenston Heights The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812. Resulting in a British victory, it took place on 13 October 1812 near Queenston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). The battle was fought between United States regulars wit ...

. During the construction of the Erie Canal, he opened a supply store at a place where the canal was cut through a mountain ridge, and which became the village of Lockport. In 1822, he became the first Postmaster of Lockport. On December 19, 1827, he married Eliza Bates at Hopewell, New York. He was an Anti-Masonic member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(8th D.) from 1829 to 1830, sitting in the 52nd and

53rd New York State Legislature The 53rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 20, 1830, during the second year of Enos T. Throop's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provis ...

s. In October 1839, he was appointed by Governor William H. Seward a Canal Appraiser. In February 1840, he was elected by the New York State Legislature a Canal Commissioner, and remained in office until February 1842 when the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

majority removed the Whig commissioners. From November 1852 to March 1853, he was again a Canal Appraiser. He died on April 28, 1866, in Lockport, Niagara County, New York.

Sources

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 42, 43, 128 and 139; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

Obit in NYT on May 8, 1866
''History of Political Parties in the State of New-York''
by John Stilwell Jenkins (Alden & Markham, Auburn NY, 1846; page 358) {{DEFAULTSORT:Boughton, George H 1792 births 1866 deaths Politicians from Niagara County, New York Erie Canal Commissioners New York (state) state senators People from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts Anti-Masonic Party politicians from New York (state) New York (state) Whigs 19th-century American legislators 19th-century New York (state) politicians